Be Home for Christmas
by The Layman
Summary: It's a HuniePop Christmas one shot! For some reason Tiffany Maye just can't seem to recapture that old time Holiday cheer she used to know, and her search leads her down some interesting turns... Rated T for brief language and some thematic elements.


It wasn't often Jessie Maye entertained guests, especially considering those she did were usually there for "business", but once a year, on December 24th, the aging adult actress went all out and threw a lavish Christmas party, with an open invitation to the rest of Glenberry to come and mingle, drink, and maybe even exchange some gifts. For all the buzz about it leading up to the event one could easily think the government declared it a new national holiday.

At least, that's the impression Tiffany always got from it.

" _Aw, but why not, sweetie?"_ her mother said on the other end of the line, " _I_ know _you don't have any classes the next couple days, Aiko-chan said so! And before you ask, I ran into her at the winery when I was picking up the sangria for tonight."_

Tiffany hoped her mother didn't hear the sigh she let out. _Because_ of course _she ran into my physics teacher near alcohol, why am I not surprised?_ "I know, Mom, but I'm just too busy right now." She really wasn't, but her mom didn't need to know that. "I still need to finish at least three different papers, and later some of the other girls are throwing a dorm Christmas party and they invited me." Her plan was to just relax in her cozy studio apartment with hot cocoa and Bing Crosby CDs, maybe a Christmas movie if she were feeling especially festive, before getting a good night's rest. She'd pop by _Casa de Navidad_ _Sexual_ (God bless Kyanna for teaching her the occasional Spanish, it definitely came in handy when English didn't cut it.) the next morning to say hi and retrieve her presents. "It's just not going to work out this year."

She could practically _feel_ her mother's disappointed tone. " _Baby, I can tell when you're lying, I did raise you for most of your life. Seriously, come on over, you'll have fun! Beli said she's coming, and my boo Lola, and that nice lady at the salon whose kid you sit for…"_

Dammit, that was going to be her next excuse! Kyanna must have been able to get her cousin to watch Philip after all.

Oh well, time for some creative truth telling.

"Look Mom, the only way this party could happen if Miss Yumi agreed to chaperone it, and, well…." She let the sentence hang for dramatic effect. "...let's just say she never really stopped being a student, so someone needs to chaperone _her_ chaperoning us." _Miss Yumi probably told her she was doing this tonight when they met._ "I was basically volunteered to do it."

" _Aw! And I even made those little snowman cookies you love so much…!"_

 _Not since I was 9, Mom…._

" _So you're_ sure _you can't sneak away for an hour or so…?"_

"Pretty much, yeah." As much as her mother annoyed her most of the time, she didn't like letting her down. _But_ this was the first time in a while she'd had where she could just _relax,_ so…. "I'll stop by tomorrow."

" _OK Honey, have fun at your party. See you tomorrow."_

And with that Jessie hung up.

The call over, Tiffany set her phone down on her bed and let herself fall back against the fluffy covers, feeling strangely drained. She honestly didn't like saying "no" to her mom, hence why she prefered to just keep to herself most of the time; it never left her feeling satisfied and usually soured the rest of her day. This time didn't deviate from that norm.

Still though, she now had the rest of the evening to enjoy, so she may as well make the most of it. Righting herself, she made her way over to her dresser and started fishing out some appropriately holiday themed clothes to relax the night away in.

"Christmas cheer, here I come!"

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

" _...And my all your Christmases...be white…!~"_

"*sigh, you tell 'em, Bing."

Surprisingly, despite everything going pretty much exactly the way she planned it, Tiffany was just plain bored. She'd had her Christmas lights turned on (icicles), a mug of cocoa in hand, the dulcet crooning of Bing Crosby looping in the background...something was missing, but she couldn't quite place what; by all accounts, this should be magical.

She'd tried surfing channels earlier to find a Christmas movie to watch, maybe help get her in the mood, but unfortunately nothing really stuck out at her. The next hour had been her sitting at her small dinner table with her cocoa, failing to let herself be swept away by the holiday tunes. Granted, that might be because she only had a couple of Christmas song on her phone, but even _that_ didn't seem like the root cause of this weird melancholy she was feeling.

Maybe...maybe it was because she was sitting alone at home; holidays were best spent other people, not by yourself! And she had friends, so why not spend some time with them? Reaching for her phone again (killing the music once in her grasp) she scrolled through the contacts for someone to celebrate Christmas Eve with.

"Let's see...they're busy, they're busy, _they're_ busy visiting their family…."

This wasn't going as well as she hoped.

Most of her school friends were either busy with other plans or were out visiting their own relatives, and the rest were at the Christmas party on campus. Her non-school weren't any more promising, with the few adults she knew well enough to have their contact info were, sadly, already at her mom's. Checking her notifications she saw the typical "Merry Xmas" and "Happy Holidays" texts, along with a couple of voicemails she didn't remember getting- right; she put her phone on silent to listen to the music! On reflex she tapped the notification and started playing the most recent one.

" _Bitch, get your skanky cheerleader ass down here yesterday!"_ Audrey's "boisterous" voice rang out from the tiny speakers, " _I'm stuck at this fucking thing with Little Miss "fucks a Joystick" being a wet blanket,_ like usual _, and if I have to listen to one more fucking asshole singing "Jingle_ Balls" _or I don't get some hardcore drugs in my system, I swear to fucking Christ I will take your stupid baton and-"_

Boop, deleted. Yeah, that was pretty much typical Audrey; she could figure out the rest of the message on her own.

But hey, she knew where to find two of her friends were now! Even if it wasn't ideal, at least she'd be spending time with her friends, so it was definitely worth pursuing in finding that missing piece of holiday cheer. She quickly grabbed her coat and boots and Santa hat (sticking her phone in her coat pocket) and headed over to the GU campus.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

"So then the bitch was like ' _Ho, I gave you want you paid for!'_ , and I said ' _I_ paid _for a good haircut, so your baby weight ass better fucking deliver!'_. So then…."

Yeah, things weren't any better now that she was here; Nikki was in one of the corners, playing a game on her phone (not that Tiffany blamed her, the poor girl was more at home, well... _at home_ than at social events like this), and Audrey was, like usual, going off about Kyanna. Between that and the pounding dubstep the DJ was blasting, it wasn't a very "Christmassy" atmosphere.

Why was the Holiday Spirit illuding her so? It wasn't like she was asking for much, just a little bit of that ol' Christmas magic! But it seemed like life had other plans for her tonight, and none of them involved the holiday.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get some punch," she said, getting up from her seat, "You want any?"

"Only if it has something that makes me see visions of sugarplums or some shit." With a dismissive wave of her hand Audrey went back to telling the others at their table about how she was the "victim" of terrible customer service.

 _Why aren't I having any fun?_ she wondered on her way the drinks table. She tried immersing herself in "Christmas", she tried the party she'd originally used as an excuse to placate her mom, so why wasn't any of it filling her with that magical feeling she usually associated with Christmas time? It wasn't her age, because she didn't remember feeling this way last year, and it certainly wasn't a lack of effort in her part. It was like she was only going through the motions of celebrating, while the actual feelings of celebration had debt a message that they weren't going to participate this year.

Sort of like a certain 20 year old college student had….

Shaking those thoughts from her mind she scooped some punch into a red Solo cup (it wouldn't be a college party without them) and tilted it back, letting the fruity liquid pour down her throat. There was a slight bite of alcohol to it, not really all that surprising.

Before she could pour another cup she felt her phone vibrate. Then it buzzed again, meaning she was getting a call. Good thing too, because right now she welcomed the distraction. Leaving her cup behind she quickly headed out the front doors so the noise wouldn't interfere with her conversation.

"Tiffany here!" she chirped, "What's shakin', bacon?"

" _Hi sweetie!"_ came a very recognizable voice on the other end.

"Hi mom…," she sighed, her previous excitement dissipating like her breath in the cold December air. "What's up?"

" _Oh, nothing much, just checking in on my baby girl; I know how wild these college parties can get, I've been to more than a few in my-"_ The sound of hooting and hollering briefly cut into her mother's anecdote. " _Anyway, are you doing alright, not getting up to any mischief?"_

"What was that sound?" she asked, mostly to avoid actually answering her mom's question.

" _Oh, your friend wanted to play beer pong,"_ Jessie explained, " _She_ may _have already had a few drinks before she decided that's what we're doing right now."_

That was probably Kyanna she was talking about; Tiffany had never seen the woman drunk before, but it made sense that the normally exuberant woman would be the "fun" kind of drunk.

"It's sounds like you're all having fun."

" _Oh, oodles! Beli even brought this Indian pastry- Heaven help me if I can pronounce it- that tastes great with a little powdered sugar. Fortunately I still had a bunch left over after I made the gingerbread house. We're also going to watch a movie later, but I can't decide between "White Christmas" or "Holiday Inn"; which one do you think Lola would enjoy more?"_

Either choice honestly had its issues if her mother's stewardess friend were involved. However, she managed to suppress her inner Social Justice Warrior (she knew her mother meant well and wasn't trying to be malicious) and offered her input.

"Go with White Christmas, it's more on point with its theme," she said.

" _I was_ thinking _that, but you_ know _how dreamy Fred is…!"_

 _Yes, Mom, Fred Astaire is your dream husband, you've mentioned it before._

" _Are you_ sure _you can't swing by for a little bit?"_ her mother continued, suddenly switching gears, " _I still have some cookies left; I set them aside just in case."_

"Thanks for the offer, but…." She glanced around, hoping to find something she could conveniently make an excuse out of: a flickering lamppost, a hastily scrawled poster board sign for the party, a blue sedan with a fir tree tied to the roof passing by…. _Geez, I'm off my game tonight._ "I'm having fun here. Maybe next time."

" _Hmm, I see…."_ Once again, her mother's disappointment was palpable. " _Well, I'll put some food in the fridge for you; you can pick it up when you come over tomorrow."_

"Sure, tomorrow." A pause. "...is that it?"

" _I suppose it is...Merry Christmas, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Merry Christmas, Mom." And with that she hung up, tucking the phone back into her pocket.

Well, now she was more bummed out than ever. Why did Jessie feel the need to check up in her all the time? She was an adult, she had her life together, she had goals, she was going to college; hell, she was doing better in life five years ago than her mother was at that same age! It was paradoxical!

And she didn't understand why Jessie was always so insistent at being a part of her life. Again, she didn't _hate_ her mother, but when you found out from your friends that they couldn't come over anymore because their parents said they didn't want them hanging around that Jessie Maye or they'll catch something, or when Samantha Krenshaw won the Talent Show even though she made a bunch of mistakes in her routine and her mother was being too loud during her own, or when she showed up to her high school graduation reeking of sex and looking like a 10 cent hooker it was kind of hard to really like her all that much.

Her mood most assuredly soured, Tiffany felt like doing something she normally frowned upon and usually criticized others for doing: getting right plastered. So what if she usually choose to abstain from the stuff? You didn't get through GU without _some_ kind of alcohol tolerance, and by golly she wanted to put that tolerance through the ringer and just forget about this stupid holiday that didn't seem to want to play nice with her!

But not without her coat; there might not be any snow on the ground, but subtropical climate or not it was still December, and even temperatures in the low 50s felt cold to her. (Thank God for nude leggings, that's all she had to say.)

Her article of warmth retrieved- she bid a quick farewell to Audrey and Nikki- she made her way back to the exit.

Hopefully a quieter venue and a couple seven lemon drops would keep this evening from being a total loss.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Aside from Lusties Nightclub, Glenberry really only had one other bar that was worth its salt. Infinitely more casual and laid back than Lusties (it was more of a Bar Lounge than a pub) it was the destination of choice for people who wanted to enjoy a craft drink in a more "classic" atmosphere.

It was also for people who wanted to drown their sorrows in peace, which was where Tiffany fell on that Venn diagram tonight.

" _All alone tonight?_ " The bartender, a pixie like girl with neon pink highlights in her otherwise brunette hair, had asked her when she first came in.

" _Something like that, I guess…._ " If you could count her absence of Christmas Cheer as "being alone". It honestly wasn't too far from the truth; no matter what she'd done she just could recapture those warm, fuzzy, Christmasy feelings she remembered having in years past.

At least Lemon Drops weren't inextricably linked with the holiday, so she was actually able to enjoy them.

 _It's not fair_ , she mused, swirling around the contents of her third Drop, _why doesn't anything feel like Christmas?_

After a while her thoughts turned to her mother's party. It was starting to get pretty late, so she wouldn't be surprised if at this point everyone was drunk enough that the night had turned into "Ho, Ho, Hoes; Merry XXXmas" (she mentally slapped herself for being able to think of that title so easily) and was trending on "HoneyPot dot com" or whatever porn sites Jessie usually contributed to. And the irony was that she was probably still bursting with Christmas cheer despite making like a snowy driveway and getting plowed. ( _Dammit, Tiffany!_ )

After knocking back the rest of her drink to wash away the burn of that _gawd_ awful pun she rapped her knuckles on the bar. "Hey, I'll have another!"

Almost like magic another Lemon Drop was slid over to her.

"You sure you don't want to talk about what's bothering you, Champ?" the bartender asked as they retrieved the empty glass, "Cuz if you're banking on your looks to get you free drinks, then I'm sorry to say that you're only good for about two." Once the glass was cleaned she set it aside and pulled out another one and filled it from the tap. "So anyway, what's got a pretty girl like you sitting _here_ on Christmas Eve; boyfriend walk out on you?"

Tiffany shook her head. "No...I've just been feeling weird all day." She took a sip of her new drink. "Nothing I've done today has felt festive; this is the only place I could think of that wasn't trying to _actively_ kill my mood." Another sip. "I just want to go back home and sleep the rest of this night away."

The bartender nodded sagely. "Yeah, I know the feeling; this is actually supposed to be my night off, but apparently I _have_ to cover for the guy who normally works tonight, but there's an 'important meeting' he needs to attend. _Pfft,_ stupid Dionysus…."

 _Geez, don't you think comparing your coworker to Dionysus is a bit harsh?_

"Honestly, the only good thing about this is that this place closes early this tonight." She gestured to Tiffany with her glass, "Speaking of which, you might want to pack up soon; the Weather said there's a good chance of rain tonight."

"Thanks," Tiffany said, knocking back the rest of her Lemon Drop. She then started fishing around in her wallet for a tip. If the weather really was turning inclement then the sooner she could snuggle up under the covers and dream of sugarplums until morning. "Here," she handed the pixie woman a few bills, "you can keep the change."

She didn't wait for the woman's response, throwing her coat back on and hurrying out the door with her hands tucked into her pockets. The bartender might have yelled after her about offering a ride, but she was already out the door and didn't catch it.

It was much more windy than when she arrived, so the pixie like woman must have been right about the forecast; _hopefully_ she could make it back to her apartment before the rain started, it wasn't _that_ far away from this part of town. Still, best not dawdle, all things considered.

 _Strong_ wind, apparently, with how much it was trying to knock her over. Like, _aggressively. The hell, Wind?_ More than once she found herself tripping from a particularly strong gust that seemed to catch her right in mid stride; she already had good balance from cheerleading, which apparently didn't mean _squat_ right now. Seriously, _the hell, Wind?_

It was getting to the point of ridiculousness when she felt started to feel raindrops impact her face. _Great, just my luck...should've grabbed something with a hood._ She was still a ways away from her apartment, far enough that she'd need to change clothes once she got inside. Not that it wasn't the plan anyway (nothing was more satisfying than wearing comfy PJs to bed), but she wanted it on her own terms, dammit!

More on instinct than design she cut down an alley, tugging the collar of her coat a little higher. Four Lemon Drops had left her a little buzzed, but apparently some part of her mind realized that with the wind blowing as hard as it was two giant walls on either side of her offered more protection than her previous route. If she cut through one or two more alleys she should make it home relatively unmolested by the elements.

However, before she could make it out the other end a figure stepped in front of her, cutting off her exit.

"Oh, excuse me!" she apologized, stopping just short of a collision. She tried to maneuver around the figure, but the kept stepping in her way. "Um...could I get by, please?"

"I don't think so," they said in a voice that sounded like they chain smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, pulling an object from behind their back that looked very like a gun.

 _Oh shit! Oh shit oh shit oh shit!_ Was this cliché really happening? Was she _really_ getting mugged in a dark alley? Unfortunately it was, and that gun the mugger held was suddenly the only thing she could focus on.

"Money and jewelry," the mugger said, "on the ground. Now."

She knew what to do in this situation, she'd taken those self defense classes at the gym, but for some reason her mind was completely blank. "I...I don't-"

She didn't even finish her thought before she heard a click and suddenly felt her entire body go haywire, the intense, uncontrollable muscle spasms making her lose her balance.

Her vision started to go dark, consciousness rapidly slipping away, and the last thing Tiffany was aware of before passing out was the sound of glass breaking and something wet splashing in her face.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

She didn't know how long she'd been out cold, but when she finally returned to the Land of the Living she felt like the wrestling team had taken her intestines and used them for jump ropes. Not just her intestines, but every part of her body ached, and the timpani drum someone was playing inside her skull wasn't making things any better. At least she was laying on something soft and….

Was that _underboob_?

" _Wuh_ …?"

"Oh hey, you're awake!" said a voice said from above the breasts. "You feeling better now, Baby?"

" _Baby"?_ Nobody called her that! The only people who did were creepy jerks who thought they were "the shit" and that _she_ was lucky to be dating them, or her moth-

...oh.

 _Oh…._

"... _Mom_?" Tiffany croaked, blinking as she took in her surroundings; she was currently in a very plain looking living room, save for the myriad of Christmas decorations all over the place (including a tree standing in front of the window. If it weren't for all the decorations she might have assumed she has woken up in some stranger's summer home where they brought all their one night stands.

"It's me, Sweetie," her mother said, "You feeling alright now? When I brought you in last night you were out like a log; not even a peep at Kyanna's singing."

 _...Kyanna can sing?_ Surprisingly, this was the first thing Tiffany's mind latched onto. She tried to sit up, managing to get halfway before a splitting headache told her going the rest of the way was a bad idea.

She hissed at the pain as her mom leaned her back down, a pillow replacing Jessie Maye's lap.

"Easy; you're gonna be fine, but that nice doctor said you should take it easy for today." The older woman reached over to the coffee table and handed her a red and green paper cup. "Here, this should help."

Tiffany nodded wordlessly and accepted the cup, taking a cautious sip: iced tea with a bit of honey in it.

After a few more sips she turned to her mother ( _Ow…._ ), "Hey, Mom...how did I get here?" The last thing she remembered clearly was hurrying back to her apartment just as the rain was starting to pick up….

Jessie's previously gentle expression fell away to a frown at the query. "You were almost mugged, honey; the man shot you with a stun gun, but thankfully I was on my way back from picking up another bottle of Sangria- turns out I didn't buy enough the first time- and I knocked him out before he could take anything."

… _huh_ , Tiffany thought as she recalled the events of the previous night, _so_ that's _what that liquid was._

"I almost broke down when I saw you unconscious," her mom continued, "but this nice doctor just also happened to be passing by and made sure you were alright, thank goodness. They said they'd take care of the mugger so I could bring you home."

There was probably something about the last part of her mother's explanation that was legally dubious, but the throbbing in her skull was a bigger concern at the moment.

She tried to sit upright again, this time taking it more slowly and managing to succeed. Now with a better view of the room, she could see that there were a bunch of presents under the tree, all tied up with a red bow on top. There were colorful lights not only on the tree but hung around the rest of the room as well, even framing the fireplace (there were a couple logs sitting in the hearth, waiting to be lit). On top of the mantle there was a very old looking Nativity set made out of porcelain, and underneath that hung a pair of stockings; they both had calligraphy letters on them, one "J" and the other "T", and both were filled to the brim.

And then there was her mom. Jessie usually wore gaudy tank tops and booty shorts, but today her attire consisted of a one piece, shoulderless red dress that came down to her knees with white fur on the trims, deep green leggings, and a Santa hat on her head that was tilted at a playful angle.

She then glanced down at her own clothes- or rather, the chiffon robe that had somehow replaced the clothes she remembered wearing last.

Jessie must have noticed, because she then stated "Oh by the way, I threw your clothes in the wash; I figured you wouldn't want to wake up smelling like booze." She then headed into the kitchen, "You wait right there and I'll bring breakfast out, OK sweetie?"

"OK…." With her mother fetching breakfast Tiffany finally had a moment to process everything that had happened to her in the past evening, and the more she thought about it the more said events sounded like something out of a music video, that and those Lemon Drops she downed didn't dissuade her from thinking it was just a fever dream brought on by a bit of underdone potato. And yet, here she was on the couch in her mom's house, a place she tended to avoid if she could, so….

She couldn't quite place the reason why, but being here now didn't make her feel like she needed to take five showers and reschedule her yearly physical. Being here, in the midst of all the homespun holiday cheer (as gaudy as some of it was)...it was sort of like she was eight years old again, waking up on Christmas morning after staying up to wait for Santa. It had been years, yet she could still recall the details of that time easily enough: waking up, going upstairs to bug her mom to wake up, gobbling down a bowl of oatmeal with maple syrup and nutmeg, and finally tearing into her presents while old-timey crooners sang Christmas songs over the CD player.

But when has that feeling disappeared? It wasn't directly after she learned what her mom did, she could still remember some happy Christmases around then, but at some point between then and now she didn't feel the ( _frustratingly elusive_ ) "Christmas Spirit" nearly as often or as strongly, especially when she started college and her workload started taking priority when she had time to herself.

And yet...no matter what seemed to happen to her, Jessie Maye always managed to find some- ...scratch that, _all_ the enjoyment in the holiday. Considering Tiffany was a _cheerleader_ , the irony of her not having "spirit" was about as obvious and in your face as, well, her mother's boobs.

"Here you go," the titular ( _...Dammit!_ ) mother announced, setting a wooden tray on the coffee table. "Dig in!"

Tiffany looked down at the spread before her: a steaming mug of hot cocoa (with the tiny marshmallows in it), sliced wedges of apple arranged like a flower, a bowl of savory smelling oatmeal- maple and nutmeg, to be precise- not too runny, and a vanilla frosted cupcake with a lit candle in top.

"Merry Christmas, Sweetie," her mom said, sitting down again and wrapping her in a hug, "and Happy Birthday!"

Her birthday? But, that was three days ago; she'd been so busy getting ahead in coursework that she'd forgotten about it until it already passed, and only because she'd gotten a few "Happy Birthday" texts from her friends when she turned her phone back on.

"Uh…it's a little late," was all she could think to say.

Her mother just shrugged. "I figured you probably made your own plans and didn't want Mommy butting in." _Well, that's not_ in _accurate…._ "Besides, I knew I was going to see you today, so I figured 'why not just combine the two'?" She gave her daughter a gentle shove, "Go on, eat up, or else we can't open presents!"

At her mother's urging Tiffany reached forward and picked up the bowl, blowing on it a couple times to cool it down. She scooped some oatmeal onto the spoon, only to put it right back down. There was one thing that was nagging at her mind, something she was having trouble wrapping her mind around.

She turned to face her mom, "Why are you being so nice to me? ...and don't just say 'because it's Christmas', I know why you're _supposed_ to be nice to people today." She knew her mother grew up in a super religious part of the country originally, so she could pretty much recite the "proper" reasons why you were supposed to be a nice person. "I want to hear _your_ reasons."

If her mother was taken aback by her admittedly forceful request she didn't show it. Instead she exhaled a long breath and drew Tiffany in close, resting her daughter's head atop her breasts.

"Have I ever told you about what it was like when I was pregnant with you?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah, a couple times."

The woman nodded, "Then I won't bore you with the gorey details again; long story short, right up until I held you in my arms for the first time I thought I'd been cursed...but at that moment nothing else mattered, and I _knew_ you were the best thing to ever happen to me." She sniffled a little. "You were sort of like my own little Christmas miracle…." She then embraced Tiffany again, "So no matter what you do or where you go, even if I never see you again, I'll _never_ stop loving you!"

Tiffany could count on one hand the times she saw her mother get this emotional, and they were usually after a particularly heated phone call with relatives. But this...this felt different; it felt warmer, more happy (in a strange way), and even a little infectious, and soon she found herself hugging her mother back.

And at that moment the woman holding her felt like her mother: not Jessie Maye, the woman who always embarrassed her daughter in public, not Misty Peaks, MILF supreme. No, she _truly_ felt like Mom right now.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a minute or two both women, the mother and the daughter, let each other go and leaned back in their seats.

"So…," Jessie Maye ventured, "...how about some music?"

"Sure, Mom, sounds good."

Reaching between her breasts Jessie pulled out a small remote control unit and clicked a button, and the room was filled with the dulcet, crooning tones of Frank Sinatra. "Now finish up your food so we can get to the good stuff!"

Tiffany wouldn't realize this until days later, but she'd found that elusive "Christmas spirit" waking up on her mother's couch. It wasn't in the decorations, or the presents, or "Xmas parties", or at the bottom of a Lemon Drop. It was in the love of someone who gave and didn't expect anything in return...even if that someone was a teen mother approaching middle age who got naked on the Internet. She'd probably continue to keep a respectable distance from Jessie Maye after this, old habits die hard, but at least for today she was willing to forget about her mother's "transgressions" and just enjoy Christmas morning with her like she used to.

" _I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me…."_

 _fin._

 _And there we have it, folks! Another foray into the Hunieverse wrapped up in a nice little bow. (Christmas puns.)_

 _Gotta say, I'm surprised how easy it was to bang this one out, but I guess when your muse hits you it hits_ hard. _Granted, there were one or two spot that I feel could have been better, but hey, nothing's ever 100 percent perfect._

 _If any of you remember my other standalone Huniefic, "Mom's Night In" (which_ you should _check out if you haven't already…!), you can tell what aspects of these characters I find most interesting to write about. Both Jessie and Kyanna are implied in the game to be single mothers, and it's not hard to infer that Tiffany is Jessie's daughter (they have the same last name for crying out loud!), and it's the details of the Maye ladies' relationship that I find fascinating and worth exploring._

 _Though to be quite honest, I got the idea for this fic from a completely different source: Aiko Yumi. She's supposed to be very loose and shameless, and it isn't hard to read some kind of "praise me!" complex into her character, and that's what the original idea was going to be. So I was conversing with fellow writer Cypher DS (whose HuniePop stories are like a_ million _times better than mine!) and he said something or other, I can't recall offhand, and it suddenly hit me "What does a Jessie Maye Christmas look like?": in the game a lot of the Unique Gifts for Jessie are Christmas themed. So I wrote the first paragraph a the top of this fic, intending this to be from Jessie's perspective, but my mind went "Boi!" and suddenly the entire thing became about Tiffany being a quasi-Scrooge learning about the true meaning of Christmas. Granted, that's a much more complex topic than I broke it down to, and I encourage everyone to take a step back and think on what it is, because while presents are nice, it ain't the end all/be all of the holiday._

 _Anywho, this while probably be my last fanfic upload for the year, baring a freak burst of inspiration for my ongoing RWBY fic, "Accidents Happen", so until 2018 I wish all of you out there Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a blessed Kwanza, a memorable Festivus, or whatever else you celebrate in December._

 _(Also look for me on YouTube "The Layman", on Twitch "the_layman", and on Twitter "(a) the_layman215". I have P a treon too: "(slash) thelayman")_


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